1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to wood industries and, more particularly, to a sawdust-free cutting method and apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In conventional sawmill installations, wood pieces are typically sawn by bringing the wood pieces in contact with a rotating circular saw having a toothed outer circumference. There is normally an important speed differential between the advancing speed of the wood pieces and the tangential speed at the periphery of the rotating circular saw. This results in the generation of sawdust, which constitutes an important source of waste.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,009,741 issued on Mar. 1, 1997 to Zimmerman discloses a woodworking machine comprising a number of power driven feed rollers for feeding wood products into and through a cutting zone. The cutting zone includes a pair of coplanar toothed saw blades. An overhead dust collector is provided above the cutting zone to carry away virtually all sawdust generated while the machine is being operated.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,138 issued on Sep. 30, 1986 to Altman discloses a cutter apparatus for sheet materials, such as plaster board, wherein a pair of axially spaced, coplanar blades are driven in opposite directions and in a way such as to create a speed differential between respective cutting edges of the blades. During cutting, the sheet material is self-propelled by the action of the blades.
Although the cutting apparatuses described in the above patents are effective for cutting wood products and sheet materials, it has been found that there is a need for a new cutting method and apparatus for cutting a variety of wood products without virtually producing any sawdust.